Dear Dakota | How To Protect Yourself as An Interior Designer from Contractor Mistakes

Apr 5

Have you had to eat the cost of a contractor mistake just to resolve the issue and keep the client happy?? I hope not, but it’s certainly a reality in the interior design world.

One thing that comes up all the time is dealing with outside contractor mistakes and, more specifically, how to protect yourself as an interior designer from liability caused by those mistakes.

Dear Dakota,
How do we protect ourselves from a contractor mistake or hold a contractor accountable for a portion of the cost?

This interior designer unfortunately had a situation where they had to eat the cost of a contractor mistake just to resolve the issue and keep the client happy. Sound familiar? I hope not, but it’s certainly a reality in the interior design world.

The keys to making sure your interior design firm is not liable for contractor mistakes are planning and clear communication.

The first thing I want to say is this: in the U.S. there are VERY STRICT laws and licensing requirements around general contracting — and if you are in a very strict state and are acting as a GC without a GC license, you could be opening yourself up to liability for any issues on the job site.

So KNOW THE LAWS IN YOUR STATE AND DO NOT ACT AS A GENERAL CONTRACTOR UNLESS YOU ARE LICENSED AND HAVE PROPER INSURANCE.

Now that we have cleared that up, if you are an interior designer and NOT a general contractor, you are likely NOT managing subcontractors and you certainly should never be managing a GC’s subs (the GC chose them, NOT YOU, and those subs are operating under the GC’s license and supervision).

So, just as YOU, the interior designer, would be liable if your design assistant specified the wrong sofa arm for a client project, your contractor would be liable if one of their subs installed flooring or windows incorrectly. (Again - you’re not making the GC buy a new sofa because the wrong arm style was specified for the living room they are building…just as the GC should not make you cover the cost of a new window if their installer broke it when installing or installed it upside down).

That being said:

Your interior design clients should have separate and direct contracts with all outside contractors. It is not for the interior designer to hire licensed contractors - your client should be doing that. (In fact, some states will put liability on the designer if the designer even RECOMMENDS a contractor and there is an issue with construction!)

So again, KNOW YOUR STATE’S LAWS AROUND GENERAL CONTRACTING.

PS: I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice.

Then, in YOUR contract with your interior design client you should include a term clearly stating that you, the designer, are not a general contractor and are not responsible for hiring contractors, overseeing their work, or fixing their mistakes.

In fact, it is absolutely within your right as a business owner to decline projects with contractors who have a history of screwing up and not taking ownership. As your business matures, you’ll get to know which contractors will do the right (or wrong!) thing and can save yourself future headaches by declining projects that involve those contractors, or simply ONLY scope the furnishing part of the project, not any construction finishes.

Then, once the project is started, the interior designer’s responsibility is to make sure their specification books are i) approved by the client) and ii) very detailed with clear instructions and images for installation so there is ZERO room for contractor/subcontractor error.

These specs should include the interior designer’s contact information so if there are questions, the contractor can reach out and it can be settled before any work begins. If the instructions are clear, and the contractor has a line of communication, there should be no issue.

The contractor’s job is to make your mutual client’s vision a reality. If they are hiring subcontractors to complete the job, it is the contractor’s responsibility (as the company hired by the client) to ensure those subs follow the same process, and know and understand the specs exactly as submitted by the interior designer. The contractor chooses AND gets paid to manage their subs - designers don't, so don’t get involved in that relationship and incur unnecessary expenses for your clients.

If something does go wrong during construction, the interior designer can advocate for and arm the client with knowledge in the form of what is industry standard for quality workmanship, and by showing submitted and approved specs. Usually, if there’s a problem it's either:

a) because the contractor didn't have proper design install instructions from the designer, or
b) they messed up and need to cover it,

so making sure the provided specs are clear and concise is the key to making sure these mistakes don’t happen (and if they do, the liability is on the contractor).

For more resources on working with contractors, read How to Deal with Outside Contractors as an Interior Designer and check out our Construction Design Client Experience Templates & Contractor Kit. And, be sure to check out other posts from the Dear Dakota series here. If you have a question you’d like answered, feel free to email me!